The secret is...the midnight hour

I recently started another semester of grad school and on the first day of class my professor urged us to carve out a small amount of time each day to write for our thesis paper. As the only mommy in class (even my professor is single and childless), I felt a clear disadvantage from my peers. How in the heck am I going to carve out a quiet time to write when I have a hard time finding time to eat meals throughout the day!?

However, I was encouraged by my reading that week. Wendy Laura Belcher wrote that parents tend to do better at finishing their writing projects because they become experts at multi-tasking and making the most of their precious alone time. Yes! Thanks Wendy for including this in your book!

A few days later, I was sharing this with my mom. I love having "mommy chats" with her because I know she'll understand and she usually has some practical advice or encouragement for me (something I hope to inherent for my talks with my own kiddos). She said that she used to get us kids to bed, and then fulfill her "wifely duties" with my dad and then after everyone was asleep she would take one to two hours to herself at night to mark things off her to-do list. Being a night owl, I loved this idea! So that night, I tried it out :) What a special time this was! I cleaned, listened to relaxing music, worked on my Bible study, finished some reading and went to bed with a smile and sense of accomplishment.

The next morning, it felt amazing to wake up to a clean apartment. Malachi and I cuddled that morning and I hadn't the slightest hint of guilt for staying in bed for an extra hour.

I kept this up for the week and was amazed at what a difference a quiet work hour each night makes! I finished all my homework, I stayed on top of the cleaning, I even read an extra book for fun! Taking time to yourself is so important as a mom and it really makes a difference...even if it is at the midnight hour.